The Best Checking Accounts (2024)

If you’re like many Americans, your checking account is an indispensable budgeting tool. It’s the spaghetti junction in your financial life, receiving direct deposits from your employer and re-routing money to your spending by way of automatic bill pays, debit-card purchases or electronic payments over services like Zelle.

What’s more, you no longer need to rely on your neighborhood bank to open a checking account: Online banks, credit unions and non-bank “neobanks” are all vying to hold your money, many offering low fees and the ability to earn interest on your deposits (if not traditional perks like paper checks and personalized customer service.)

The institutions we picked balance the demands of convenience and accessibility with transparent low fees and, if possible, a reasonable interest rate of interest.

• Best overall checking account
• Best brick-and-mortar bank checking account
• Best online bank checking account
• Best credit union checking account
• Best basic checking account
• Checking account terms to know
• How we picked

Interest rates were current as of Oct. 2, 2023. For more specifics of how we vetted banks, scroll to the bottom.

Best overall checking account

Why we picked it: The 360 Checking account from Capital One strikes a ideal balance between the low- or no-fee accounts offered by online banks and the full-service options available from traditional banks with brick-and-mortar networks. This checking account is easy to use and virtually fee-free. Capital One doesn’t make you jump through hoops or tack on a bunch of gimmicky conditions to avoid fees, and the bank has an impressive customer-service reputation, to boot.

This is an interest-bearing account, a rarity among checking accounts, although the rate is negligible.

There’s no minimum deposit to open the account and no minimum balance requirement. Just about the only fee you’ll find on the 360 Checking account is an outgoing wire transfer fee of up to $30. There are also fees for paper checks, but these are nominal: $7 for an order of 50 checks, or $11 for 100.

You won’t have to pay fees for monthly maintenance, foreign transactions or paper statements. Capital One also doesn’t charge fees if you use an out-of-network ATM. Although the ATM operator might impose its own fee, Capital One’s participation in the MoneyPass/Allpoint network means customers have more than 70,000 fee-free ATMs they can use.

Capital One also doesn’t charge fees for overdrafts, and it offers a few different ways to keep you from overdrawing your account. You can elect to simply have transactions declined if they would trigger an overdraft, or you can have a transfer initiated from a linked account to cover the amount of the transaction. You also might be eligible for a service Capital One calls No-Fee Overdraft, which essentially gives you a grace period to bring your account back up to zero.

Capital One topped the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. National Banking Satisfaction Study, and offers customer resources in the form of an online library of educational material to help you learn how to manage your money. In addition to this checking account, Capital One also offers an attractive flagship savings account, 360 Performance Savings. This account was Buy Side from WSJ’s pick for Best Overall Savings Account.

Caveats: While Capital One does have a brick and mortar footprint of nearly 300 domestic storefronts, this footprint is much smaller than those of its mega-bank rivals, which can have 10 times as many—or more—the number of branches.

Although you can earn interest, the minimal 0.1% APY offered is lower than what you might be able to find at an online bank.

Other banks we considered: Discover Bank’s Cashback Debit account is similarly fee-free and transparent, but there’s no brick-and-mortar network for people who prefer to bank that way, and rather than earning interest on your balance, you instead earn 1% cash back for up to $3,000 in debit purchases each month.

A Chase Total Checking account gives you access to more than 4,700 branches and a network of more than 15,000 ATMs, but there’s a $12 monthly fee unless you meet certain conditions, and while it has made its overdraft penalties more lenient in recent years, you could still find yourself paying more than $100 per business day in a worst-case scenario.

Best brick-and-mortar bank checking account

Why we picked it: While the Virtual Wallet isn’t as fee-free as our top pick, its fees are lower than many of its peers, and we think the requirements to waive them are reasonable. Its $7 monthly maintenance fee is on the low end for the category, and the thresholds for getting it waived are as well. The fee won’t be charged if you’re at least 62 years old, or if you maintain a balance of $500 or have a monthly direct deposit of at least $500.

PNC Bank is the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets, but there are only three other banks (Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, respectively) with more domestic branches. PNC’s more than 2,600 locations make it easy to get in-person customer service, which might be why it ranks higher than the industry average in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. National Banking Satisfaction Study.

The structure of this account encourages you to work towards your short- and long-term personal finance goals. When you sign up for Virtual Wallet, you get the option of setting it up strictly as a checking account, or as a hybrid checking-savings account. If you opt for the latter, the savings portion of your balance will earn interest at an APY of 0.01%, with eligible customers able to earn up to 0.03% on a portion of their balance.

Caveats: While this is an interest-bearing account, the rate is negligible. While PNC has tools to help customers avoid overdrafts, the penalty of $36 is on the high side.

Other banks we considered: Citi’s Regular Checking account doesn’t charge overdraft or returned-item fees, but there’s a $15 monthly fee unless you meet certain conditions.

First Citizens’ Free Checking account is almost fee-free if you forgo getting paper statements, and it charges a lower-than-average $10 for overdrafts, but having funds automatically transferred from a linked account to avoid an overdraft—a free feature at many other banks—incurs a $10 fee.

Best online bank checking account

Why we picked it: It’s easy to open an Ally Spending account (formerly called the Interest Checking account), with no minimum deposit—and there’s no minimum balance requirement once your account is open, either. You earn the same competitive APY on your entire deposited balance, unlike some accounts that have interest-rate tiers.

The APY offered on this checking account is decent, and if you prefer to do all your banking in one place, its savings account (which you can link to your checking account to automate your savings or protect against overdrafts) also offers one of the most competitive rates available—Ally Online Savings was also our pick for Best Online Savings account.

If you plan to also open a savings account, you can take advantage of a few features built into Ally Interest Checking that aim to make saving money easy by transferring small amounts of cash from your checking into your savings account on a regular basis. (These tools are set up so that you will never incur a negative balance as a result.)

Ally offers a couple of programs to help you avoid overdrafts, but even if you elect not to use either of them, you won’t be charged a fee if you inadvertently overdraw your account.

You can use 43,000 Allpoint ATMs without incurring a fee, and Ally doesn’t ding you with an out-of-network ATM fee if you use another institution’s ATM. Better yet, you can get reimbursed up to $10 a month for ATM fees charged by other banks.

Caveats: While customers can conduct remote check deposit, text alerts and peer-to-peer transfers through Zelle on Ally’s digital platform, as well as get digital and phone customer service, there are no physical branches, which might be a dealbreaker if you want to do your banking in person.

Ally has historically offered a competitive APY for its checking account, especially when compared with brick-and-mortar banks, but the bank’s tiered interest rate structure—0.1% for balances of less than $15,000, 0.25% for balances of $15,000 and above—isn’t nearly as beneficial for people who keep low balances in their checking accounts. (And with savings accounts APYs currently topping 5%, there’s not much incentive to keep a large balance in checking these days.)

Other banks we considered: We were impressed by the convenience and high APY offered by American Express’s online checking account, but this account is only available to people who already have an AmEx credit card.

The eChecking account offered by CIT Bank (an online brand of First Citizens) has no monthly fee and balances of $25,000 and higher can earn 0.25% APY interest, but paper check-writing privileges aren’t included.

Best credit union checking account

Why we picked it: Alliant High-Rate Checking has one of the best combinations of low—or nonexistent—fees and high interest among the credit unions we evaluated. With no minimum balance, it’s easy to open the account, and there are no monthly maintenance fees or penalty fees for activities like overdrafts or out-of-network ATM usage to erode the returns you can earn on your deposited funds. And unlike some interest-bearing checking accounts that limit your earning potential with caps or tiers, you earn the same generous APY on your entire balance.

While interacting with an online bank is likely to be similar to interacting with an online credit union, some people prefer to do their banking with credit unions. Unlike banks, credit unions are nonprofit entities, which means their rates or terms might be more favorable than you would get at a for-profit institution. Many credit unions require customers to live, work, study or worship in the vicinity where they are located. With no physical branches, Alliant is one of a new breed of internet-based credit unions that anyone can join—and to date, more than 650,000 people have done so. Becoming a member is as simple as registering to become a member of the nonprofit Foster Care to Success (Alliant pays the $5 one-time membership fee on your behalf).

Although customers can’t bank in person at a branch, Alliant offers access to a network of more than 80,000 surcharge-free ATMs, and it reimburses a generous $20 in other ATM operators’ fees per statement cycle.

Caveats: While the APY on Alliant High-Rate Checking is head and shoulders above what most credit unions offer, people comfortable with an all-online banking experience can earn higher rates of interest at some online banks and neobanks.

Other banks we considered: Lake Michigan Credit Union’s Max Checking earns a whopping 3% APY, but only on the first $15,000 in deposits, and you have to meet a number of conditions every month, including direct deposit, 10 card purchases, four online banking logins and electing to receive e-statements.

PenFed Credit Union’s Access America Checking account has a higher maximum APY than Alliant, but a combination of tiering and a $50,000 cap limits your potential earnings. The account also charges a $10 monthly maintenance fee unless certain conditions are met.

Best basic checking account

Why we picked it: Many big national banks have, in addition to their flagship checking account and a “premier” account for high-balance customers, a basic checking account. These accounts tend to have minimal fees and lower balance requirements, but they often also have some pretty significant limitations, like no check-writing privileges or no counter service at branches.

We found TD Convenience Checking appealing because it has the simple, inexpensive structure of a “basic” account but still retains the full range of services and options you get with a full-fledged checking account. While there are fees associated with this account, it shouldn’t be too difficult for most customers to avoid them. The threshold for avoiding the $15 monthly maintenance fee is just $100 (as opposed to $500, $1,000 or even more charged by some other banks.) TD Bank also doesn’t charge the monthly maintenance fee for account holders aged 17 to 23.

The account does charge a typical $35 overdraft fee, but it is waived if you overdraw by $50 or less. You also have the option of drawing funds from a linked savings account to cover a transaction that would otherwise overdraw your account for a $3 fee.

TD Bank also was highly ranked in the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. National Banking Satisfaction Study, coming in third in overall satisfaction

Caveats: If your balance dips below $100, you will be assessed a $15 maintenance fee. There is also a $1 fee for paper statements. Also, this checking account does not earn interest.

Other banks we considered: BMO Bank’s BMO Smart Money Checking account charges no overdraft penalties and gives you the option of banking in person as well as online, but unless you’re under the age of 25, you can’t avoid the $5 monthly fee.

Bank of America’s Advantage SafeBalance Banking account has a modest $4.95 monthly maintenance fee (waived for students) and no overdraft fees, but this account does not come with check-writing privileges.

Checking account terms to know

If you’re deciding between two or more checking accounts, there are some commonly-used terms you should familiarize yourself with to make the comparison easier.

APY: This stands for annual percentage yield, which is the rate of return you would earn on deposits in an interest-bearing account once the effect of compounding is factored in. For a more detailed account, checkout Buy Side’s APY explainer.

Direct deposit: This refers to an electronic transfer of funds into your account. Some checking accounts require monthly direct deposits—sometimes with a minimum threshold—as a condition to waive the monthly maintenance fee. Generally, regularly occurring wage or retirement payments, such as Social Security, will suffice, but it’s important to check the account’s fine print, especially if you don’t receive deposits on a regular schedule.

In-network ATM: These are ATMs that are either branded with the bank’s signage or are part of a network (such as Allpoint or MoneyPass) that the bank has partnered with for customers to use without incurring a fee. Out-of-network fees are typically assessed—by both your bank as well as the ATM owner—if you use an ATM that is not part of the bank’s network.

Insufficient funds (NSF) fee: This is similar to an overdraft fee (see below), but it typically refers to digital or paper check payments that are initially processed before being reversed because there isn’t enough money in the account for the transaction to clear. In the era before digital banking, this was sometimes called a bounced check fee. The amounts vary by bank, but tend to run around $35.

Maintenance fee: Not all checking accounts charge these monthly fees, which generally range from $7 to $15, but they’re relatively common, especially at large traditional banks. Many banks offer one or more options for waiving the fee, such as keeping a certain balance in the account, or establishing monthly direct deposit or electronic bill pay.

Minimum balance: A common condition for waiving a bank account’s maintenance fee is that you keep a certain amount of money—say, $1,000 or $1,500—in your account. A minimum balance requirement generally means that if your balance drops at any time below that threshold, you’ll be hit with the monthly fee.

Minimum daily balance: This is another term banks use when referring to the requirement that you keep a certain amount of money in your account to avoid the monthly fee, but it gives you a bit more leeway in that your balance can dip below the minimum threshold as long as you bring it back up by the end of the day.

Overdraft fee: This is similar to an NSF fee in that it is triggered when you don’t have enough money in your account to pay for your transactions. The main difference is that your bank covers the transaction that brings your balance into negative territory, then charges you an overdraft fee—also generally around $35. You can generally avoid overdraft fees by not authorizing your bank to process transactions that will lead to a negative balance. The transaction will just be declined instead.

Point-of-sale transaction: Some checking accounts require you to make a certain number of purchases per month as a condition to waive the maintenance fee. These are usually described as point-of-sale transactions, which means purchases you make by swiping, tapping or dipping your debit card at a payment terminal. This does not include transactions like shopping online or electronic debits you authorize to automatically pay, say, your cell phone bill or car payment.

Transaction posting order: This refers to the order in which your bank processes a day’s worth of transactions, which can affect how your account’s minimum balance is calculated. In general, you want to see that they count money coming in before they count money going out.

How we picked

To pick Buy Side from WSJ’s Best Checking Accounts, we looked for accounts that offered convenience, transparency and low fees. Where possible, we also favored accounts that offered a reasonable rate of interest, or APY.

All of our Best Banks picks are FDIC members, which protects account holders’ deposits, with the exception of those offered by credit unions, which are protected by a parallel organization, the National Credit Union Administration. Interest rates were current as of Feb. 3, 2023.